Q&A for West Plains City Council Candidates
Hotly contested is the seat of Jessica Nease, who has served as Councilwoman for 6 years. Despite winning the election in 2019 with 96% of the vote, she has received staunch criticism from some in the community over her support for mask mandates, and is now facing competition from businessman Ron Grennan, retired military veteran Mike Burgess, and Howell County Sheriff's Sergeant Paul Bradshaw.
Incumbent John Niesen, who was appointed to his seat after Mayor Jack Pahlmann retired in April 2021, faces a challenge from city utility worker Donald McClellan.
Every candidate said that more needed to be done to stimulate small business growth, but there was some disagreement on the specifics involved. Nease and Grennan both expressed a desire to revitalize the downtown area, while Burgess talked about the need for more factory jobs. Bradshaw said that without quality jobs, "we are going to be stagnant."
When asked about a particular vote that was tough for incumbents, Nease discussed the decision to condemn the Butler House in 2018. "Our job is to look at the budget and make sure we are spending those dollars wisely," she said, "I didn't see it there. I voted to demolish the building."
Nieson said his toughest decision was the across the board utility rate increase. He explained how rising costs left his hands tied, saying, "I lost a lot of sleep on that one thinking about the impact...but I think we made the right call."
Every challenger mentioned mask mandates as the worst decision the Council had recently made. Bradshaw explained, "I don't think we should be telling people to wear a mask, and diverting law enforcement from real crime."
McClellan expressed frustration with the West Plains Solar Array. "I work at the city and I think the people should have the right to vote on the solar farm," he explained, "I think the people should have more say in what the city does."
The panel also discussed the need for better infrastructure, ways to address the societal problems of crime and homelessness, and other challenges the Council will face in the next few years. The City of West Plains will decide who is best suited to lead them through those challenges on Tuesday, April 5th.